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Simple, Tail Glow to raise your special attack to astronomic levels, Rest to heal in rain, to be used with Kyogre (or Politoed..?), Ice Beam and Surf have nice coverage together, giving Manaphy the chance to sweep :>

Hmm...what can I really say about these two? Hydration is the Only Ability they get, so there's nothing to analyze about that (aside from the utility of Hydration-Rest). Manaphy has Stats identical to Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Land Shaymin, and Victini and Phione has Stats identical to Glalie - Manaphy has Great Stats across the board and Phione has Average Stats with Above-Average HP. Other than that, everything is overly obvious. Manaphy and Phione may have a lot of untapped Physical Set potential, but the Type Coverage of their Physical Moves is enough to make you steer clear almost-entirely (especially with Manaphy's Tail Glow).

Manaphy is the perfect example of deception of stats. 100 across the board seems mediocre for the Uber tier, but its success lies in its ability and movepool. Its ability is arguably the main reason why its uber: Hydration combined with Rest in the Rain gives it instant full recovery, and with the prominence of Kyogre, this isn't too hard to pull off. The second reason why it was most likely banned was due to its setup move, Tail Glow, which gives it a massive +3 boost to special attack, allowing it to match the power of Uber titans. To a lesser extent, Calm Mind is also a key to its success, which allows it to take some powerful special attacks with the appropriate defensive investment. In all, Manaphy is not to be underestimated.

With a +3 boost, rain, and possibly a Life Orb, Manaphy is a terror to face, as even without a Life Orb, 252 / 208+ Ferrothorn is 2HKO'd by a +3 Rain-boosted Surf. Tail Glow is the most important move of the set, allowing Manaphy to reach ungodly levels of power in just one turn of setup. Surf will destroy anything that doesn't resist it and even heavily dent some resists. To give you an idea of how powerful it is in rain and with a boost, it 2HKOs Chansey after Stealth Rock. Ice Beam is there mostly to hit things weak to it if you can't get a boost or you're not in rain, as a +3 Surf in rain actually does more to things like Lugia than a +3 Ice Beam. Grass Knot is mostly for Kyogre as it can just barely avoid the 2HKO from a Life Orb +3 Rain Surf. Rest gives it instant full recovery, greatly increasing longevity.

Kyogre is mandatory as a teammate, as it provides rain to boost Surf, and allow Manaphy to instantly wake up from Rest.

Check and Counters
Due to its power, Manaphy doesn't have any true counters, but some come close. Choice Scarf Zekrom can come in on Grass Knot, and destroy any Manaphy with Bolt Strike. Scarf Kyogre can come in on Ice Beam and do a similar job with Thunder, but will lose in the rare occasion that a Calm Mind Manaphy carries Grass Knot.

Changing the weather will be very problematic for Manaphy, as it relies on it to have instant reliable recovery. This especially applies if you switch Groudon in as Manaphy uses Rest, as it will be stuck asleep for two turns while Groudon can possibly KO it, or switch into something else that can kill it. In the Sun, Grass Arceus is probably the best universal counter, as it easily takes all of Manaphy's attacks and can KO with Judgement, or set up on it.

Standard CM Manaphy set. CM is used over Tail Glow for the Sp. Def boosts. At +1 it can tank a Thunder from most Kyogre and Palkia, use CM, then outspeed and use CM to weaken the second one, again surviving, and then Rest up. Rain has to be in effect for Hydration to work. You can normally easily set up to +6, and then sweep with boosted Ice Beams and Scalds. However, Physical attackers can impede the set up process, which is why Scald is there, for the burn chance. It is still powerful after STAB and the rain boost. Phazers also pose a problem, but a swift boosted Ice Beam can cripple or KO most common ones e.g. Giratina, Groudon, and once they are crippled, set up rain again (if they change the weather) and then restart.

Zekrom is a large problem, specifically scarfed ones. A Wobuffet is good to take it down, and you will need to take out Groudon and possible Giratina before you attempt a sweep.

For this coverage, I shall look at both Phione and Manaphy, two pokemon that have several differences and similarities alike. While the two are universally same, there are things that separate them like great stats compared to average stats, and Phione's lack of Tail Glow and other good moves. While one is clearly better then the other, they are good Pokemon that you should at least give a try at both.

This set is pretty much mandatory for a lot of Manaphy's in the Uber Community, as Tail Glow is one of the main reasons the tiny prince got pushed up there in the first place. As stated before, Tail Glow is the killer here, adding a boost of +3 to your Special Attack, making Manaphy a force to be reckoned with. Rest, combined with Kyogre, makes Manaphy able to recover any damage and wake the following turn. Surf is your key STAB here, wrecking anything that isn't hit hard by Ice Beam. This attack is especially useful under maxed Tail Glow and Drizzle, ensuring nothing will survive this barrage. Finally, Ice Beam is there for what Surf can't handle, like Arceus Grass and Groudon, if it decides to bring in the sun.

Other Options:
Substitute - If your Manaphy isn't bulky enough to survive while it is setting up, you could give this a try if you really wanted too, but it is highly recommended you put in the additional 252 EVs in HP if you want to do this.
Calm Mind- While this is effective, I find it doesn't give the proper coverage compared to Tail Glow. You could try if you want the Sp. Def boost, I guess.
Grass Knot - There for other Kyogre's who would generally soak up Manaphy's attacks, but that's about it.

Counters and Resistances:
Thundurus with Taunt is a good choice if Manaphy decides to switch in, as a Prankster Taunt removes the Sea Prince's niche as a powerful glower. Arceus Grass in the sun is also a nice choice, but as stated before, Ice Beam can generally wipe it out, although CM can be used to prevent otherwise. As for things that can stall Manaphy, there isn't much there, but there are clear options. Groudon is your best friend here, as his ability of sun provides a great opportunity if Manaphy decides to rest, but is stuck sleeping for two turns. Darkrai can use the classic Dark Void + Nasty Plot set, although it is recommended to get rid of rain, as Manaphy can simply shrug off whatever sleep you throw at it otherwise.

This set gives a different look on Phione, as both an attacker and more or less a supporter. Ice Beam is standard, taking care of Butterfree, Serperior and the majority of grass, flying or ground/rock types. Rain Dance is considered Phione's main niche, although U-Turn is for if you already have that kind of proper support put up. Scald is a good stall-breaker, with a good chance of burning. Finally, Surf is a decent STAB move, being coverage for what Ice Beam can't destroy. The item is really your choice here: Damp Rock is if you want Rain Dance, Leftovers is for the bulky sweeper, and Life Orb is if you really want to add that extra power into it.

Other Options:
Rest - Good for Bulky sets, but not advised for sets like the ones above that try to go for more offense.

Counters & Resistances:
While Electric and Grass Types are essential to defeating Phione, it seems like a pointless endeavor as Phione will likely set up Rain Dance before being killed after a second attack. To fix this, get fast and powerful electric types such as Rotom-S, Raichu and others are key to taking down the doppelganger. Phione is also rather helpless as taunt or sub bait, as it has little offensive presence. Shell Smash Gorebyss or Huntail can set up and take advantage of Phione's rain as well.

The strength of Pokemon is not given by their stats, movepools, or how "broken" they are. They are given by the love and care we give to them when we raise them up from small hatchlings. We shouldn't think of them as mindless drones, but as our loyal friends and companions.

Manaphy can run tail glow or calm mind. Tail glow has a niche because manaphy is the only decent pokemon with access to it. Calm mind can be justified over kyogre because of rest + hydration. Also outspeeding rayquaza with some speed EVs could be very helpful. I don't have any experience with phione so I can't say much here... I guess it could run rain dance/rest/scald/ice beam with defensive EVs.

I'll start with Manaphy. He's pretty cool. I use him a lot in Ubers, the reason being its ability, Hydration. If it's paired with Kyogre, it basically removes its status problems. The trouble is, Rest is its only recovery move; if your opponent sends in something like Tyranitar as you Rest, you're pretty much screwed until you send Kyogre back in. But if you can take care of opposing weather inducers and let Manaphy set up, your opponent is in for a torrent of trouble.

Calm Mind is the crux of the set. It boosts the little water pixie's SpAtk and SpDef by one, so it can stay on the "bulky" side while it retains its power. Rest is there because of its ability, Hydration, which allows it to heal any status on the first turn in the rain, so if Manaphy's HP dwindles, you can Rest off with no restraint. It also makes things like Thunder Wave or Dark Void useless, so it can be an effective absorber against Darkrai. Surf is for more power, but Scald has that 30% burn rate, which is always helpful. The last move depends on what your team needs, but either way, something walls you. Ice Beam hits Dragons like Rayquaza and others like Groudon, but leaves you walled by other Kyogre. Grass Knot takes care of Kyogre and still hits Groudon hard, but leaves you walled by most Dragon-types.

This is a much more offensive Manaphy. This time, you replace Calm Mind with Tail Glow, a move that increases SpAtk to +3! With Life Orb equipped, if can do some heavy damage. Here are some damage calculations to show off its power.

Whew, that's some power! Anyways, again, the moves in the last slot are completely up to you.

Other Options
Hidden Power, Choice, U-turn

Checks and CountersChoice Scarfers like Zekrom, Palkia, and Dialga can outspeed and kill it with a Thunder. They won't do much to the Calm Mind set after +1, however. Calm Mind Arceus-Electric is also a good counter, which can Calm Mind alongside Manaphy and OHKO the Tail Glow set with Thunder. Taking away the rain helps, too. Groudon and Tyranitar are shaky checks, but they remove Manaphy's rain. Choice Scarf Kyogre is a good counter, as it can come in and revenge kill it, but Kyogre can't take a Grass Knot. Rayquaza, although it is KO'ed by Ice Beam, can come in on a predicted Rest and proceed to set up.

Now for Phione, Manaphy's little brother. It doesn't seem too bad at first, sitting at base 80 in every stat. Of course, they aren't huge, but it looks enough. So why is it sitting at the bottom of NU? Its movepool is terrible, and it doesn't even get Calm Mind! What it does best, however, is setting up rain for its teammates.

This is Phione's best set. It can set up Rain Dance for sweepers like Gorebyss, and get out of a sticky situation with U-turn. Scald is so you don't become Taunt bait. However, Toxic is viable as well.

Other Options
Life Orb, Safeguard

Checks and Counters
If you can KO Phione before it sets up rain, you have basically countered Phione. Fast Electric types like Raichu can do the job. Pokemon with Taunt can easily stop Phione as well.

Opinion: Water is my favorite element, so naturally I would like both of them. I prefer Manaphy, however, probably because it possesses more of an offensive presence.

Prediction for next week: Genesect

I have claimed the 'CHU'S!

Spoiler:- Fantasy's Wall Of Quotes:

Is it possible that there are no coincidences?
One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the highest skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the highest skill.
It's not about the size of the ninja in the fight, but the size of the fight in the ninja.

Heart Swap is seldom used in most sets for obvious reasons; it's not that it sucks, it's just on the wrong pokemon. Manaphy has no such stat dropping moves, rather insane boosting moves like Tail Glow and Acid Armor. Heart Swap has no place on a pokemon like this, but this set makes use of it through unconventional means. The idea is to Heart Swap the stat boosts Manaphy gains to a partner pokemon that could really use the +3 Sp.Atk boost, and the move of choice here is Tail Glow. Tail Glow is the most dangerous and fastest boosting move Manaphy can use, since one use gives +3 Sp.Atk, it is ideal if you are going to swap it onto something that's going to use it. You have the choice between Substitute or Protect to shield you in the Double Battle format, because once your opponent finds out what Manaphy's doing, they'll be aiming their crosshairs on the little guy. You can run both moves, but you'll have no space for the STAB moves to take advantage of in Hydro Pump and Surf. The latter is preferred to run with teammates who can take a Surf or two, and they have to be really good at it too, because if Manaphy is in trouble, he'll need to be throwing around +3 STAB boosted Surfs to clean up shop for you.

You have a lot of other options for Manaphy if you so please, but the set above is the most optimal of Manaphy's movepool. The other two boosting moves Manaphy has is Acid Armor and Calm Mind, the former being an alright defensive pass, the latter a slower form of boosting offense and defense a little. In terms of support, Manaphy gained Heal Bell and Helping Hand from the Black 2 and White 2 tutors; the former helps Manaphy act as a cleric while the latter can boost his teammate's power aside from Heart Swapping Tail Glows. In terms of offense, Brine is an acceptable move to swap for Hydro Pump and Surf, since Doubles will see a lot of Pokemon taking hits, and Manaphy can assist in picking off the weakened bunch. Scald can also spread Burns and increase your team's survivability, and has synergy with Calm Mind if you have the patience. Icy Wind barely counts as an offensive move, but hey, it lowers Speed with each hit, so it has some merit. Lastly, AncientPower while it sounds silly, is usable in hopes of rolling that lucky +1 to all stats so that you can pass it to a teammate and such. There is still the Rest Hydration combo you can use, but Manaphy's movesets are limited as it is.

One more thing to remember about Heart Swap. It makes Manaphy a middle man of sorts, in that he can take away negative stat drops from a teammate like from Overheat or Leaf Storm or SuperPower, and then pass them along to your opponent who would really not like them. Just remember that it swaps all stat changes, so you'd be in a pickle if your teammate somehow got a stark boost to one stat in comparison to a drop in another.

And lastly, teammate options. If you're running Surf on this guy, the teammate has to have some form of water resist or immunity, or Protect. It is optimal to have such a Water Immunity on a physical attacker, that way, Manaphy can stockpile Tail Glow boost while using the +3 Surfs to attack and heal the teammate. Speaking of which, try to keep your coverage broad. Manaphy has the Water attacks you need, provided you can keep him alive, so your teammates should have your other weaknesses covered.

Ah, Manaphy. Somehow, the only BS-100 legendary currently Uber. I guess it's cause of Tail Glow, but seriously, I'll take Jirachi over this thing any day. Anyways, when looking at Manaphy, a few things stand out. One, besides Tail Glow, it completely and utterly lacks any defining characteristics that set it apart from any other bulky Water. Defensive sets are outclassed horribly by Vaporeon. Therefore, one must abuse his calling card, Tail Glow, in order to potentially get a sweep. While not the most effective thing in the world, I think a SubSalac set might be decent.

Problem is, Manaphy suffers from 4MS badly. It can't carry everything it needs to carry in order to effectively sweep. Without Substitute, it can't reliably activate Salac Berry. Without Rest, it's priority bait. Without HP Grass, Kyogre and friends wall him to hell and back. So, you've gotta pick and choose a bit.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend this thing. Just use Vaporeon or Kyogre. Or drop him to OU where maybe he can see some real use.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend this thing. Just use Vaporeon or Kyogre. Or drop him to OU where maybe he can see some real use.

Vaporeon is really bad in Ubers, and Kyogre is actually a preferred teammate for Manaphy, not its competition. Manaphy was also banned from OU back in BW1, and I doubt that would change even now. It still has that same deadly combination of HydraRest, Tail Glow / Calm Mind, and great base stats and typing that helped get it banned in the first place. Besides, it saw about 4.7% usage in Ubers last month, so it gets decent usage as it is.

On a side note, definitely run Grass Knot instead of HP Grass if you're concerned with hitting Kyorgre. Grass Knot hits Kyogre with 120 base power, so it's far better than HP Grass.

Vaporeon is really bad in Ubers, and Kyogre is actually a preferred teammate for Manaphy, not its competition. Manaphy was also banned from OU back in BW1, and I doubt that would change even now. It still has that same deadly combination of HydraRest, Tail Glow / Calm Mind, and great base stats and typing that helped get it banned in the first place. Besides, it saw about 4.7% usage in Ubers last month, so it gets decent usage as it is.

On a side note, definitely run Grass Knot instead of HP Grass if you're concerned with hitting Kyorgre. Grass Knot hits Kyogre with 120 base power, so it's far better than HP Grass.

Completely forgot Grass Knot existed. Seeing as it hits most Ubers with max base power, I'd definitely recommend running that. Still not recommending running this thing at all, it's way too much of a gimmick for Ubers, and there's a lot of better things you can put in that teamslot.

And maybe Vappy is outclassed in Ubers, but it's still a far cry better than those defensive Manaphy sets you see running around.

Manaphy isn't exactly a gimmick. Like I said, Manaphy does see respectable usage in Ubers, and it does have its perks. Base 100 speed is a pretty big deal in Ubers (it was the sole reason that anyone took Salamence seriously in Ubers last generation), and Tail Glow is a very powerful boosting move of which Manaphy is the only good offensive user. The Calm Mind set is also deceptively hard to take down. If Manaphy gets a Calm Mind as Modest Scarf Kyogre switches in, it actually has a great chance of taking a Thunder, setting up another Calm Mind, and surviving the second Thunder so that it can begin Rest stalling the rest. If Kyorge is Timid, or if it is another special Scarf user such as Scarf Palkia (which is also generally Timid), then the Scarf user doesn't have much of a chance of breaking through Manaphy at all. Heck, HydraRest in general is a great asset when combined with two great boosting moves and good Water typing.

Also, I'm not sure where you're seeing defensive Manaphy sets. Last month, about 94% of Manaphy were running either Tail Glow or Calm Mind (assuming no one ran both at the same time), which are the two best sets that Manaphy should be using.

Got Pokémon X. Intend to get either Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire.
No info about my Friend Safari.
Vivillon Pattern: Polar
Looking for nicknamed, shiny, and/or have a hidden ability in GTS and may battle at anytime.
If interested, send a private message with your ID #.

Manaphy is the perfect example of deception of stats. 100 across the board seems mediocre for the Uber tier, but its success lies in its ability and movepool. Its ability is arguably the main reason why its uber: Hydration combined with Rest in the Rain gives it instant full recovery, and with the prominence of Kyogre, this isn't too hard to pull off. The second reason why it was most likely banned was due to its setup move, Tail Glow, which gives it a massive +3 boost to special attack, allowing it to match the power of Uber titans. To a lesser extent, Calm Mind is also a key to its success, which allows it to take some powerful special attacks with the appropriate defensive investment. In all, Manaphy is not to be underestimated.

With a +3 boost, rain, and possibly a Life Orb, Manaphy is a terror to face, as even without a Life Orb, 252 / 208+ Ferrothorn is 2HKO'd by a +3 Rain-boosted Surf. Tail Glow is the most important move of the set, allowing Manaphy to reach ungodly levels of power in just one turn of setup. Surf will destroy anything that doesn't resist it and even heavily dent some resists. To give you an idea of how powerful it is in rain and with a boost, it 2HKOs Chansey after Stealth Rock. Ice Beam is there mostly to hit things weak to it if you can't get a boost or you're not in rain, as a +3 Surf in rain actually does more to things like Lugia than a +3 Ice Beam. Grass Knot is mostly for Kyogre as it can just barely avoid the 2HKO from a Life Orb +3 Rain Surf. Rest gives it instant full recovery, greatly increasing longevity.

Kyogre is mandatory as a teammate, as it provides rain to boost Surf, and allow Manaphy to instantly wake up from Rest.

Check and Counters
Due to its power, Manaphy doesn't have any true counters, but some come close. Choice Scarf Zekrom can come in on Grass Knot, and destroy any Manaphy with Bolt Strike. Scarf Kyogre can come in on Ice Beam and do a similar job with Thunder, but will lose in the rare occasion that a Calm Mind Manaphy carries Grass Knot.

Changing the weather will be very problematic for Manaphy, as it relies on it to have instant reliable recovery. This especially applies if you switch Groudon in as Manaphy uses Rest, as it will be stuck asleep for two turns while Groudon can possibly KO it, or switch into something else that can kill it. In the Sun, Grass Arceus is probably the best universal counter, as it easily takes all of Manaphy's attacks and can KO with Judgement, or set up on it.

Yay! Hooray! My next post turns out to be one of the cutest Pokemon in terms of Legendary.

If I heard from Smogon Correctly, Manaphy was tested in 5th Generaton OU. With Politoed's dream world Ability, my prediction was completely correct. Manaphy is so Adorable that Even Keldeo and Terraion envies him for being the prince of the sea.

So much for my predictions since I LOVE having Manaphy hangout with Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Land Forme Shaymin, and Victini in OU. I mean COME ON! THE ARE SO KAWAII TOGETHER! Damn tier list! Let the little guy join his best buddies.

Ranting aside, if you want a better challenge in Ubers, Have Shaymin Sky and Jirachi face against Arceus, Kyogre, and Groudon. Don't let their small size fool you. THEY CAN scream terror in Ubers when executed properly.

Since the sets are given, I will give the rates of each set.

3rd Place: defensive sets:

Sure you can try playing little ferrothorn. But Mew does that better for me. Sure you can go Scald Stalling. But beware of Opposing Manaphy in return.

2nd Place: Tail Glow Offense

I'm surely going to love owning an Arceus and Kyogre with Manaphy. But unfortunately, if there are two defensive walls that slows down his sweep,it would be ferrothorn (AKA, the water pokemon's bane), and sadly Groudon in a special attack investment (excluding cases you're using scald). Manaphy can normally takes hits in OU. But Ubers would be too much for him. Palkia comes in mind too if our Sea Prince hasn't set up.

1st Place: Calm Mind Versatility

It's important to have scald with you if you want to give manaphy a lucky chance to cripple an Arceus Normal variant + its extremespeed could take a 2 hit ko when possible. Importantly, you want HP and Special attack with you. Manaphy is oftentimes better on attacking choiced Kyogre (except thunder) one on one. Better yet, if you got 2 calm minds, excellent. Just watch out for counters.

Other Moves:

Icy wind - sounds like a gimmick. But if you want to slow down a Sky forme shaymin, this move can help you. Useful on supporting your scarfed Killers behind your team.

If I were to give you guys a challenge when it comes to Manaphy, pair him with the following pokemon: Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Sky Forme Shaymin, and Victini. If you can win Ubers with these legendary kids, i give 100% points on both Intelligence and kindness in terms of Pokemon. I mean this team kind of plays you a challenge on keeping the Famous Karen Quote (Strong pokemon. weak Pokemon. That is the selfish perception of people. True trainers win with the pokemon they love best.). Plus, it can give you a reputative bragging rights. Just watch out from Darkrai...

Manaphy the cute blue 100 across the board in stats legendary pokemon of the 4th generation. Normally 100 across the board in stats puts it's owner in OU at best. There, they can do extremely well but manaphy oddly plays with the ubers!

Manaphy has a lot of things going for it, the best feature of it is hydration and with the prevalence of politoed and kyogre, it's not a great challenge to keep the weather up and manaphy healthy with rest! Tail glow and calm mind are the other features, setting up and sweeping. Finally, manaphy can pull off a decent defensive set with calm mind to buff up it's special defense and scald to weaken opponent's physical blows and rest to remain healthy while in rain.

Bottom line, there is a manaphy for every situation just beware of ferrothorn because it's too hard to faint it with manaphy!

This set is all about the MANliness of MANaphy. Waterfall is there because cascading waterfalls are manly as ****. Giga Impact is there because impact is a very MANly word. Acid Armor because covering yourself in acid to protect yourself is MANly. Charm is because all true men know how to treat the b*tches.